Old Enemies, New Alliances
by Bridget
Summary: Sabrina Duncan, investigating a money laundering scheme, gets some unexpected help from IFF


Title: "Old Enemies, New Alliances"

  
  


Author: Bridget ([scarecro9@aol.com)][1]

  
  


Disclaimer: This story is based on characters that are Copyright@Spelling-Goldberg Productions. This story is meant for enjoyment purposes, and I retain only the rights to the plot, not the characters. 

  
  


(Author's note: This story takes places somewhere between July and August 1983.)

  
  
  
  


Sabrina Duncan sighed wearily and reached for the next in a never ending stream of case folders from her in-box. Lately she'd been wondering more and more if she'd made the right decision coming here.

Suddenly the telephone rang.

Absently she grabbed the receiver, her attention on the papers before her. "Justice Department. Sabrina Duncan here."

"Hello, Angel," a voice said warmly.

"Charlie!" She exclaimed, putting the folder down. "I was just thinking about you. What's up?"

"I've heard your office was handling the Waterman case."

She started digging frantically through her in-box while thinking furiously. "Isn't that the chemical lab that caught fire?"

"Yes, that's it."

She finally found the object of her search and smiled triumphantly. She opened it and began skimming rapidly. "I'm reading the report right now. Wasn't someone killed?"

"Yes, one of my operatives, Julie Roberts."

"Oh, Charlie, I'm so sorry. Did you want me to keep you posted on anything we find out?" She started jotting a few notes in the upper left-hand corner of the folder.

"Actually I wanted to hire you."

"What?!" The pen froze in mid-air. "You can't be serious. What about Kris and Kelly?"

"They're too well known," he explained. "Everyone's already seen them. It would look too suspicious to have one of them turn up there."

'That makes sense,' she admitted to herself reluctantly. "But why me? I've been out of that line of work for a few years."

"You have the perfect connections. You're able to get information on areas that other operatives don't have access to."

"But we're investigating anyway," she reminded him pointedly.

"I'm sure you're already aware of the fact that the Justice Department has far too many cases to be able to investigate as fully as I'd like. You're able to spot something that another operative might miss."

She sighed. "I have to check with my boss to see if it's acceptable. I don't want to jeopardize our case here."

"I already checked with Jack. He and I are old friends. He said that he had no problem with the situation and that your office would benefit as well. The decision would be entirely yours."

"I don't know - " she broke off thoughtfully. It did sound tempting, but she wasn't sure if she could manage it with her current caseload.

"Think about it," he interrupted kindly. "You don't have to decide right away. How are you doing?"

"I'm all right." At least it was the truth. "Just a little busy here. As you said yourself, there are a lot of cases pending."

"I didn't mean work, Angel," he chided.

"Fine," she said evasively. "Couldn't be better." 

"All right, then. I can see that I'm keeping you. Just give me a call in the next day or so and let me know whatever you decide."

"Right," she said briskly. "I'll let you know."

"That's all I ask."

  
  


* * * * *

  
  


Lee Stetson had been summoned to Billy Melrose's office early this morning. He'd just walked in and spied Dirk already seated. He braced himself mentally. This couldn't be good news.

"Scarecrow, nice of you to join us," Dirk sniped.

"I got here as fast as I could," Lee answered calmly, refusing to rise to the bait. "What's up?"

"There was a fire out in Los Angeles at the Waterman Chemical Company," Billy started to explain. 

"That doesn't sound like it has anything to do with the Agency," Lee observed.

"Well, they're doing some top secret research on chemical warfare, testing out new toxins and things of that nature. A good number of those results are ending up in the hands of the Chinese. There's obviously a leak somewhere, and you're going to find out who that leak is," Dirk elaborated.

"Billy, I just got back from Germany," Lee pointed out, alarm bells going off in his head.

"Yes, I'd heard about that," Dirk commented snidely. "Wasn't that a few minutes before the Ambassador arrived to find out why you were seducing his fiancee?" 

"Hey, I didn't know she was engaged," Lee protested defensively. 

"We need someone out there right away," Billy interrupted. "Justice hasn't started their investigation yet. We need all the information we can get before they clamp a lid down on everything."

"Who's the case been assigned to?" Lee asked curiously.

"Sabrina Duncan," Billy answered, handing a picture over to him. "She's one of their top operatives."

Lee studied it for a few seconds. "That's not saying much."

"Before joining Justice she worked for Townsend Investigations for three years as a PI," Billy explained. "She left in 1979. About a year later there was a boating accident. Her husband and daughter were almost killed. She was convinced it was deliberate but nothing could be proven."

"Oh, great," Lee muttered. "She's paranoid."

"Lee, she graduated in the top 1% of her class in the Police Academy and grew up on various military bases around the world. The woman does not overreact. It was very suspicious," Billy remarked. "Apparently quite a few people thought the same thing. Whoever did the job was a professional."

"Can't someone else go?" Lee protested. "Ron won't be back until Monday."

"Everyone else is tied up on other cases," Billy answered. "Face it, Lee. You're the perfect choice. I can always pair you up with a temporary partner. I think Francine's available."

"Billy - " Lee started warningly. 

"Now, now, Scarecrow, don't beg," Dirk gloated. "You'll love Los Angeles. The weather is perfect this time of year."

"Los Angeles?" Lee groaned unhappily, rolling his eyes. 

"Look at the bright side, Lee. The sooner you get started the sooner you can come back home," Billy stated.

"All right," he acquiesced. "I'll go get the case files and run a background check on Waterman Chemicals. I'll leave tomorrow afternoon."

"No need," Dirk stated cheerfully, handing Lee a sheaf of paper. "Everything you need is right here."

Lee's eyes involuntarily dropped down to the stack as he accepted it.

"I'm sorry, Lee," Billy said.

"Your tickets are there as well," Dirk continued helpfully. "Your plane leaves in about four hours. That should give you enough time to pack."

"Thanks a lot," Lee said disgustedly. 

The next day Lee was at Waterman Chemicals under the cover of Herbie Wilson, CPA. "So you see," he droned, pushing the glasses up on his face, "the charges are very serious. The Board asked us to come over and perform our own audit of the books to prove that the allegations are false."

"And how long will this take?" Sharon Jeffers, manager, sighed. She knew she should have stayed home today.

"Oh, two - three days, tops," he smiled. "I can get started right now if you like. I also have to look around - make sure everything's accounted for."

  
  


Sabrina Duncan was talking to Bob Lewis, head of operations. "I'm from the Justice Department," she stated firmly, flashing her badge. "I'm investigating the fire at your warehouse two days ago."

"Yes," Bob smiled anxiously, knees knocking. "It was very unfortunate, but it was an accident."

"Oh?" She arched an eyebrow at him. "I didn't know that the fire department concluded their investigation."

"Well, um, they didn't," he stammered, off-balance. "What are you suggesting?"

"I'm not suggesting a thing," she corrected. "I'm just here to do a little checking on my own."

"Let me assure you, Miss - "

"Duncan," she supplied impatiently.

"Miss Duncan, that there was nothing suspicious about it. One of our employees, a Miss Julie Roberts, accidentally knocked over some combustible chemicals. It was very unfortunate."

"Unfortunate?" She repeated in disbelief. "She died."

He paled. "I know that, and I should probably have said that it was tragic, but it was an accident."

"Then you have nothing to worry about. Do you?" She pushed him aside and marched towards the corporate offices.

"Wait!" Bob shouted frantically, running behind her.

  
  


Herbie surveyed the scene with interest. "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure," Sharon answered honestly. "I think that woman's investigating the fire we had two days ago."

"Fire?" Herbie repeated in dismay, feigning ignorance. "Oh, dear. Was anyone hurt?"

Sharon nodded. "One of our employees. Between us she wasn't the brightest bulb in the box, if you know what I mean."

He looked at her wide-eyed. "Gee."

"But it's got nothing to do with this," she added hastily. "Did you want me to find you an office and then show you around?"

"That would be nice, thanks," he answered distractedly, thinking of a way he could arrange a meeting with Sabrina without it looking too obvious.

"You'll see," she nodded pleasantly, taking him by the arm and leading him off in another direction, "you won't find a single irregularity here."

  
  


* * * * *

  
  


Bob Lewis went downstairs to the nearest pay phone and dialed, glancing around fearfully.

"Hello?" A woman's voice answered.

"Hi, it's Bob," he babbled nervously, glad she was there. "We have trouble. Justice is over here investigating that fire."

"So?" She scoffed derisively. "They won't find anything. I made sure of that myself."

"Are you sure? This Sabrina Duncan looks pretty sharp."

There was silence for a few seconds. "Did you say Sabrina Duncan?" She repeated carefully, voice dangerously low.

"Yes, but if there's nothing to worry about - "

"Take care of her," Donna interrupted firmly.

"What - what do you mean?" He stammered. This was the last thing he'd expected her to say.

"What do you think I mean?" She snapped impatiently. "Kill her."

"But you just said - " 

"I don't care what I just said. You don't know her the way I do. She won't give up until she finds out what really happened. And I, for one, have no intention of going back to jail."

Bob listened thoughtfully for a few seconds, trying to think of what he could say to change her mind.

"Oh, and Bob? You know that if I go you're going with me. Unless, of course, you have a little - accident first."

He swallowed hard. "No problem. Consider it done."

"I thought you'd see it my way," she purred, smiling.

  
  


* * * * *

  
  


Later that afternoon Sabrina called Bosley from an empty office to run a computer check.

"Herbie Wilson," he read off. "CPA, Masters Degree in Accounting. He's been with the IRS for about 10 years."

"Are you sure?" She asked dubiously.

"I ran it through twice to be on the safe side. Why?"

"I don't know," she paused thoughtfully. "His body language is all wrong."

"Well, see if you can get his fingerprints," Bosley advised. "I'll run them through OCCB and see what turns up."

She looked up and spied Lee passing by the office door. "Yeah, Bos, right" she answered distractedly, hanging up the telephone and walked up behind him. "Oh, Mr. Wilson?"

Lee turned around to face her. "Yes? Do I know you?" He was caught off-balance as he hadn't been able to decide on the best way to approach her yet.

She shook her head and smiled. "No, I'm Sabrina Duncan. I'm with the Justice Department. I believe you're with the IRS."

They shook hands.

"Pleased to meet you," Lee said pleasantly. "I heard you were investigating the fire they had here the other day."

She nodded. "That's right. And you're here - " she trailed off expectantly.

"Oh, we got a report that there may be some trouble with the books," Lee answered. "We got an anonymous tip on some improprieties so we're doing an audit."

"I see." Sabrina commented in disbelief. Something didn't ring true but she couldn't put her finger on just what it was.

Lee fidgeted uncomfortably, sensing that she wasn't buying his cover. "I was just headed out to dinner. Would you care to join me?"

"I'd love to."

They walked off together. They'd just gotten outside when Sabrina spied light reflecting off a telescopic site out of the corner of her eye. "Get down!" she shouted, knocking Lee to the ground.

Suddenly there were two shots fired in their direction.

"Stay here," Sabrina instructed firmly, pulling out her gun and glancing around. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary she carefully got to her feet and ran off in the direction the shot had come from.

After a few minutes she slowly walked back to where she'd left Lee. 

He came out from the opposite direction, reholstering his gun. "They didn't come this way."

Sabrina's eyebrows rose in surprise. "I didn't know that the IRS started issuing 38's to their employees."

"You'd be surprised at how many death threats we get after an audit," Lee tried weakly.

Sabrina stared at him, not believing it for a minute.

He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Well, I'm not really an accountant."

"No kidding." Before he opened his mouth to say anything else she said, "What do you say we have dinner at my place? We can trade information. Deal?"

"Deal," he nodded in relief.

They got in her car and drove to her apartment, stopping only once at the market for sandwiches. 

Once inside Lee looked around appreciatively. "This is pretty nice."

"Thanks." She waited until they were seated and then handed out the sandwiches and sodas. "All right. You've stalled long enough. Who are you and what's your interest in Waterman Chemicals?"

"My name is Lee Stetson and I work with IFF. We work -" 

"I've heard of IFF," Sabrina interrupted.

"Oh." He trailed off for a few seconds, surprised. After all, IFF was supposed to be a top secret organization. "Well, Waterman Chemicals is doing some top secret research for the Pentagon. Apparently some of those results are ending up in the hands of the Chinese government." 

Sabrina nodded.

"It turns out that the new district manager, Xiang, is engaged to one Donna Rossinger*, who's got some pretty suspicious international connections. Why is Justice involved?"

"The White Dragons, one of the Chinese tongs, are laundering money through Asian American imports. Donna Rossinger's* the owner. Once a month she meets Xiang for lunch and then heads over to Asian American. Julie Roberts was following Donna when she was killed. I think she discovered something she shouldn't have, but never got a chance to let us know what that was," she answered. "I'm trying to figure out what the tie is between Asian American and Waterman Chemicals, other than the fact that Donna's engaged to Xiang. It doesn't make any sense."

"Is Rossinger violent?"

She nodded. "She was blackmailing a murderer to keep quiet about a black market ring she was running while she was attending Blackmore College*. When she realized that we were onto her she locked us in a barn and set it on fire."

"Nice," Lee commented sarcastically, nodding. "So did she end up at the California Institution for Women's finishing school for girls?"

Sabrina shook her head. "She ended up at some fancy white collar prison for about four years. She's out now on good behavior."

"She only got four years for all that?" Lee's eyebrows rose in surprise.+

"What can I say?" she remarked philosophically, shrugging her shoulders. "She comes from a family with a lot of money and political clout."

"How'd she end up singling you out?" Lee asked curiously.

"I was the one who ended her little scam. I was also the main witness at her trial."

"And that's why you think she tried to kill your husband and daughter," he concluded.

Sabrina abruptly stood up and started cleaning up the remains of their dinner. "So you know about that."

He eyed her warily, seeing the barriers slam down.

"I see," she said after a few seconds. "Well, for the record, money laundering is my specialty. I know what to look for and just about every trick that's been invented. I can handle this just fine."

"You're not exactly objective, you know," he remarked hesitantly. "Wouldn't it be easier - "

"No, it wouldn't," she interrupted icily. "And I really don't care to discuss this any further."

"Fair enough." It was none of his business, after all. "I wonder how they blew my cover blown so quickly," he mused aloud.

"Your body language is wrong for an accountant. Besides, what makes you think that those shots were meant for you?" She challenged mischievously and walked over to the bar, poured each of them a scotch and then walked back to the couch, handing him a glass.

"All right," he said agreeably. "What have you discovered so far?"

"Nothing." She took a few sips of her drink. "I think that I'm making people nervous by just being here. My cases have a 99% success rate."

His eyebrows went up in admiration. "That's pretty good."

"For a federal employee?" She finished wryly.

"I didn't say that," he protested uncomfortably, although he had been thinking it.

"That's all right," she soothed, patting him on the knee. "You should hear what we say about you agents."

"I'm very good at my job," he announced defensively through gritted teeth.

"I'm sure you are," she agreed innocently.

He finished his scotch in one gulp. "Are you always this abrasive?"

"Are you always so sensitive?" she countered.

"I'm not - " he began hotly, then took a deep breath to calm down. "Look, we only have to work together for a few days. Can we call a truce?"

She thought for a few seconds. "Truce."

"What does this Donna look like?" Lee asked curiously.

"I haven't seen her since the trial, but she was rather pretty. I'm guessing she hasn't changed much. Why?"

"Maybe I'll follow her the next time she comes in. See where she goes."

"I told you that she always goes back to Asian American," she reminded him.

"I know that, but why? I mean, she never stops to go shopping or deliver any packages?"

"She's a working woman. She has other things to do."

"It still doesn't sound right. Why meet every month like clockwork and come all the way down to Waterman Chemicals? Why doesn't he ever meet her for lunch?"

"She's the owner. She can make her own hours."

"But she must have errands to do. Asian American isn't a big place, is it?"

Sabrina shook her head. "They've got about five employees total."

Lee nodded. "I'll call IFF tonight and have them fax me her particulars." He glanced at his watch and got to his feet. "I'd better get going. Someone may be watching your place right now."

"You're right." She finished her drink and stood up, walking him to the door. 

"I think we should pretend that we don't know each other tomorrow," Lee continued. "We may find out more individually than working together."

"That makes sense." She opened the door and held it open for him. "So I'll see you in the morning."

Lee nodded, pausing for a second as he was unsure of how he should phrase what he wanted to say next. "I didn't mean to bring back any unpleasant memories."

"I know, and thanks," Sabrina said softly, touching his arm in appreciation. "See you tomorrow, stranger."

He smiled. "See you tomorrow." He left.

She closed the door behind him thoughtfully and made her way back into the living room. She put the glasses in the dishwasher, sat on the couch, picked up the telephone and dialed.

"Townsend Investigations," Bosley's voice answered.

"Hi, Bos. It's me. Can you run a check on one Lee Stetson? He's with IFF."

"IFF?" He repeated in surprise, jotting the name down on a piece of paper. "Do you know how hard it'll be trying to get any kind of information from them?"

"I know," she agreed sympathetically. "I just need to know what kind of agent he is."

"I'll try, but I can't make any guarantees."

"Just do the best you can, all right?" She sighed tiredly, massaging her forehead as she felt a tension headache coming on. This was becoming far too stressful.

"Are you all right?" He asked concernedly. "You sound funny."

"Huh?" She questioned, startled. She hadn't been aware of how she sounded. "I've been better," she admitted ruefully. "I'll check in with you later." She hung up the telephone before he could ask her anything else and rested her head on the back of the couch for a few minutes, her mind going back in time to about two years ago.

  
  


It was a few days after their speedboat exploded. Sabrina was sitting on a chair in their living room.

Bill came out of the nursery. "She's asleep," he sighed, sitting on the couch comfortably and smiling.

"Bill, we need to talk," she whispered.

"What's wrong?" He asked, leaning forward and reaching to take her hand in his.

She pulled away from him. "I've been thinking about this all night, and I think that you and Wendy should go away for a while."

"What?" He asked, puzzled. Surely he'd heard her wrong.

"It's the only thing that makes sense until we prove who did this. I didn't find you again and go through 12 hours of labor to have someone kill you out of the blue." She'd been up all night trying to desperately think of another solution but couldn't come up with a safer alternative.

"So come with us," he begged. "You know you can. We can all disappear somewhere and come back later after everything blows over."

"Can you see me in a kitchen baking cookies and joining the PTA?" She asked softly. "We'd end up way out in the boonies somewhere. Both of us know I couldn't handle that. I'd go stir crazy. I'd start to resent you, you'd start to resent me…what kind of life would that be? Do you think that's fair to either of us, or to Wendy? What kind of example would we be setting…that when the going gets tough the tough run away?" She paused for a few seconds. "Besides, anyone determined enough would find me."

"The same holds true for me, you know."

She shook her head. "This was aimed at me, not you. If both of you leave without me you won't be a threat any more."

"Bri, think about what you're saying," he pleaded.

"I am thinking about what I'm saying. Please don't make this any harder than it already is." Her voice was strained as she fought desperately not to lose control. She didn't want his last memory of her to be one of her falling apart.

"So what are you going to do…go back to work for Charlie Townsend?" He asked icily. "I knew that damned job would come to no good."

"All right, you told me so!" She snapped furiously, getting to her feet and walking to the corner of the wall. "Do you feel better now?!" Suddenly her anger fled, leaving her empty and cold. "I don't know what I'll be doing yet, but I'm a threat to everyone right now. I couldn't live with myself if anyone got hurt because of me."

"But you can live with this?!" he demanded bitterly.

"Do you think this is easy for me? Wendy needs at least one parent." Her voice shook as she said the horrible words aloud. She took a few deep breaths to try to calm down, closing her eyes. "Can you think of another alternative?"

"I don't believe this!" He exploded.

She winced. "Do you think I'm enjoying this?" She asked sharply, voice rising. "Do you really think this is something I want?! Would you be able to forgive yourself if something happened to her? She's our child, Bill. She's got to be the main priority here."

"No matter what it costs?" He asked darkly.

She nodded slowly, tears trickling down her cheeks.

He made a move to hold her in his arms and try to make her change her mind.

She took a few steps backward. "Please don't. Just - don't." 

"Please, Bri, come to your senses," he pleaded. "We can work something out. We can go into hiding together. You can't do this!" He whispered brokenly.

The walls started closing all around her and she had to get out of there. She hurried blindly over to the door and opened it.

Kelly was standing in the threshold, hand raised to ring the doorbell. "Hi!" She said cheerfully. "You ready for lunch?"

"Lunch?" Sabrina whispered blankly.

Kelly nodded. "I was bringing over the background checks of the people you asked Bos to run. We were going to go to lunch and compare notes. Remember?"

"Uh - " she stammered, her mind a total blank.

"I'm sorry," Kelly said, taking in the scene before her. "I didn't mean to interrupt." She glanced around apprehensively. "Look, I'll just go wait in the car. Take your time, all right?"

"I think we're just about finished," Bill remarked icily. "At least that's what I've been told. Isn't that right?"

"I - I need some air," Sabrina whispered brokenly, hurrying outside.

"Bri, wait!" Kelly called anxiously. She turned to Bill. "What's going on here?"

Suddenly they heard a baby cry.

"I have to get Wendy," he said coldly, turning his back on her and walking into the nursery.

Kelly stared after him in bewilderment for a few seconds, then hurried outside. She found Sabrina sitting in the passenger side of her car staring straight ahead and taking deep gasping breaths, arms wrapped around her middle.

Kelly cautiously got in on the driver's side. "Bri? What's wrong?"

Sabrina closed her eyes and shivered. "Would you mind if we skipped lunch? I'm not very hungry."

Kelly put her arms around her friend and hugged her. "What happened?"

Sabrina swallowed hard and tried to compose herself. "I'll tell you later. I just have to get out of here. Please."

Kelly patted her shoulder, wondering what on Earth was happening. She knew Sabrina wouldn't tell her until she was good and ready. "Your wish is my command." She leaned over, started the engine and pulled out of the driveway. After a few minutes of silence she glanced over to Sabrina and saw her just sitting there. She was so pale and unmoving that Kelly was starting to get frightened. "I have an idea," she stated instead, forcing herself to sound normal. "Since neither of us is hungry I say we both go to my place. We can have a few drinks, share a few troubles…what do you say?"

"I could sure use a drink right about now," Bri admitted shakily. "Could I crash on your couch for a few days?"

Kelly's eyes widened in shock. She hadn't realized things between them had gotten so bad. "Of course you can. You don't even have to ask."

Sabrina smiled wanly. "Thanks."

  
  


Sabrina sighed, returning to the present with a thud. That was probably the second time in her life that she'd gotten so drunk she didn't even remember what she said that entire night. It was just some horrible blur that she'd forced herself to live with. She smiled faintly, remembering once again what a true friend Kelly really was. They all were, really. They'd all taken turns during those next weeks calling her and making sure she was all right. Even Charlie had gotten into the act…making sure she was so busy that she didn't have too much time to think. That's why she ended up leaving. She needed to start over with a clean slate.

She straightened up and glanced at the clock, noticing the time. She brushed the hair from her eyes and decided to get some more work done. After all, it was only 12am. 

  
  


* * * * *

  
  


Bob Lewis sighed unhappily and picked up the telephone. This was one phone call he didn't relish making.

"Hello?" Donna answered.

"It's me."

"I assume everything's been taken care of."

"Not exactly," he answered hesitantly.

"And what does that mean?" She demanded.

"Smithers missed."

"I guess it's true what they say," she sighed in annoyance. "If you want something right you have to do it yourself." She slammed down the receiver in fury, planning what she was going to do to take care of this once and for all. 

  
  


* * * * *

  
  


Lee was sitting at his temporary desk at Waterman Chemicals the next morning.

"I saw you and that investigator leaving together," Sharon commented, coming up to him and smiling. "You two looked pretty chummy."

"It's not what you think," he protested, running his hand through his hair nervously, trying to make his act look good. "She was questioning me about the fire. She didn't want to understand that I only got here yesterday."

"I heard she's tough," Sharon agreed.

He nodded. "She sure is. She questioned me for about an hour, then she finally let me leave. I can't really blame her. After all, she's only being thorough."

"I guess," she agreed reluctantly. "Still…"

Suddenly a blonde woman popped her head inside. "Hi, Sharon. Is Pete here?"

"Sure," Sharon answered agreeably. "He's in Mike's office. He'll be out in a minute."

"Thanks." She smiled, leaving.

"Who's that?" Lee asked, feigning ignorance as he'd received her picture and dossier late last night by special courier.

"Mike Xiang's fiancee, Donna," Sharon explained. "She's here to meet him for lunch."

Lee nodded. "Look, I really have to get back to the books here. Can I buy you a drink later?"

"Sure. Didn't mean to interrupt you."

"No problem." 

Sharon left the office.

  
  


* * * * *

  
  


A few hours later Lee had tailed Donna to Asian American. Donna had walked inside the storage room in the back, examined some Chinese vases that were packed in a crate and placed a piece of paper inside. She then walked off.

Lee slipped inside and removed the paper.

"What does it say?" Sabrina whispered from over his shoulder.

He spun around, startled. "What are you doing here?" He whispered furiously.

"I decided to search this place while Donna was at lunch with her fiancee. What are you doing here?"

"I followed her. I saw her slip something in here." He dug around and finally removed the paper, opening it up and reading it. "It must be in code," he muttered.

"It looks Chinese," she observed, reading it over his shoulder.

"It's Mandarin," he corrected absently, his mind trying to figure out what it meant, "but it's not words. It's just a bunch of letters and numbers." He wracked his brain for a few more seconds, then started to shove it into his pocket. "I'll send it over to crypto. They'll figure it out. It'll probably end up being some shipping information."

"What does it say?" She pressed.

"CO2 H3Y," he read hesitantly. "I told you that it's some kind of code."

She stared at it for a few seconds. "Are you sure it's not some kind of formula?"

His eyes lit up. "That's got to be how they're getting the information out of the country. Even if customs was able to translate it into English they'd think it was just tracking information."

"And that's why the White Dragons are spending their laundered money in a chemical company," she added.

He nodded, shoving the paper into his pocket. "Right. Let's get out of here. I'll go to Waterman Chemicals and arrest Xiang. You coming?"

"I am. Let me call my boss first and let him know what we've discovered. I'll be there in about a half hour."

"Right. See you there." He left, smiling.

Sabrina surveyed the storage room one last time to make sure that she didn't miss anything, then went outside to the street.

A gentleman tapped her on the shoulder.

"Yes?" She questioned, turning around.

He blew some white powder into her face.

Suddenly she sneezed, then everything went dark.

When she awoke she found herself tied firmly to a chair. She shook her head and realized her mistake as everything started to spin crazily.

"I was wondering when you'd join us," Donna commented with false concern.

Sabrina's gaze snapped upwards towards the voice.

"Pete tried an experimental knock-out powder on you," Donna explained helpfully. "Unfortunately it has a few side effects, so the DOD's** still working out the kinks. All in all it still does a pretty good job, wouldn't you say?"

"Side effects?" Sabrina whispered, trying to sound stronger but her head was pounding.

Donna nodded. "That sneeze just before you lose consciousness, dizziness, severe headache, nausea. Of course the DOD isn't too concerned about those last three, but the sneeze just about makes it worthless. They only last a few hours. Don't worry. You'll be dead long before that."

"I'm surprised you haven't killed me already," Sabrina observed, glaring icily at her.

"It was tempting, believe me. But first I want to know who else you've told about our little operation." 

Sabrina stared at her in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding."

Donna shook her head and smiled. "Not at all. You will tell me."

"Let me make her talk," Pete pleaded, coming into the foreground. 

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," Donna continued smoothly. "You could tell me now, and I'll try to make sure your death is relatively quick and painless. Otherwise Pete will find out for me, and he does have his ways. He's a man that really loves his work."

Sabrina forced herself to remain silent, but her eyes involuntarily darted over towards him.

"I thought I'd gotten rid of you two years ago," Donna confessed ruefully, enjoying the situation before her. "I have to admit that at first I was a little miffed that the explosion missed, but then I realized that it was poetic. You tried to destroy my life, so why shouldn't I be the one to destroy yours?"

Sabrina took a deep breath and kept a tight reign on her temper.

"Still won't talk?" Donna prodded, pouting. She knew that Sabrina wouldn't crack, and she relished seeing how tough Sabrina would remain after Pete was finished. "Oh, well. Pete will fix that. After he's finished you'll wish that you'd died in that explosion." She glanced at her watch. "I'd better leave you to it, then. I'll come back a little later to see how things go." She left the room chuckling.

Sabrina started trying to free herself from the ropes but only succeeded in having them cut deeper into her wrists.

"I didn't know you were into pain, baby," Pete cooed, enjoying her discomfiture. "You'll have plenty of that by the time I'm through." He leaned forward to rip open the buttons on her blouse.

She stared at him impassively for a few seconds, then without flickering an eyelash she kicked him hard between the legs.

He screamed in agony as he collapsed on the floor beside her. After a minute or two the pain receded somewhat and he rose unsteadily to his feet. "You're going to be sorry you did that," he hissed furiously, slapping her in the face.

The blow was so forceful that it almost snapped her head off. "Go to hell," she whispered stubbornly, blood trickling from the cut on her lip. 

Pete's eyes opened wide with surprise. Usually at this point his victims were promising anything by now. He grinned, always enjoying a challenge. His eyes glazed over a bit as he was planning just what he'd do to break her.

There was an unexpected tap on his shoulder. 

Pete glanced up in surprise. He'd been so engrossed that he hadn't heard anyone enter.

Lee Stetson was standing over him, eyes blazing in fury. He quickly gave Pete a right cross followed by a wicked left hook that was so hard you could hear the jawbone break.

Pete sailed across the room, head crashing onto the floor, unconscious.

Lee started to untie Sabrina's ropes. "You okay?" He asked in concern.

"Uh huh," she answered breathlessly, wishing the room would stop spinning. He was the last person she'd expected to see. "How did you find me?"

"I got worried when you didn't show up," he admitted, struggling with a stubborn knot. "Xiang told me about this place after a little - persuasion." The knot finally came undone and he yanked the ropes out of the way. "Come on. We've got to get out of here. Someone's bound to have heard all that."

She nodded and got to her feet, rubbing her sore wrists.

He grabbed her hand. "Let's go."

Donna came into the room. "What's going on in here? - " she broke off as she surveyed the scene before her. Suddenly she turned and ran out.

Lee and Sabrina hurried after her.

Donna hurried outside, jumped into a nearby speedboat and sped off.

Lee and Sabrina were close behind on the dock. 

Sabrina stared at the boat and froze, all the color draining from her face.

Lee glanced around and spied an unattended speedboat. "Come on!" He shouted, taking her hand to pull her along as he found himself met with resistance. Surprised, he turned to face her. "What's wrong?" He asked blankly.

She stared straight ahead, unmoving.

After a few seconds it dawned on him. "Look, you just stay here. I'll be right back."

She blinked and shook his hand off. "You'll have to drive." She jumped into the boat and pulling her revolver out.

He shrugged his shoulders and hopped in beside her. 

Soon the two of them were chasing the speedboat across the water.

Sabrina fired several shots after them.

The boat sped straight ahead into the pier and exploded.

Lee slowed the motor of their speedboat and turned them around. "Hey, nice shooting," he complimented.

She slowly put her gun down and started shivering. The adrenaline was wearing off and shock was starting to set in. She closed her eyes and hugged herself hard, doubling over slightly.

"I didn't know you got seasick," he teased.

"Not really," she whispered.

He abruptly realized what was wrong and put the boat on automatic pilot, then hurried over to her side. "Here, sit down. I'll be back in a second." He helped her over to the nearby hatch and carefully lowered her to a seating position. He then made his way quickly to the back of the boat, digging through the supplies until he found a blanket. He took it over to her and draped it around her tightly. 

She looked up at him gratefully.

He went back to the wheel and gunned the motor. "We'll be on land in no time."

Suddenly Bosley, Kris and Kelly appeared on the dock.

"Uh-oh," he muttered darkly, not knowing who these strangers were on the dock.

"What?" Sabrina whispered, glancing towards the dock. "The cavalry's arrived." 

"You sure?" He asked dubiously.

"They're my friends," she affirmed, nodding. 

"It's about time," he muttered in relief, speeding over to where they were standing and pulling the boat into the slip.

Sabrina got slowly to her feet and went over to the side of the boat. She tried to climb out but her knees started to give way.

Lee put his arms around her and helped her disembark.

She walked straight into Bosley's arms and started shaking, closing her eyes again.

Bosley held her in his arms tightly, imagining what was going through her mind. 

Kris ran over, grabbed the rope and tied the boat firmly to the moorings.

"What happened?" Kelly asked in alarm.

"We saw the boat explode," Bosley added. "Are you all right?"

Lee nodded. "We're fine. I think Watson's operation is closed for good." He looked over towards Sabrina. "I can wait for the police and give them the wrap-up if you want."

Sabrina turned to face him. "That would be great, thanks."

Kris hurried back to them. "Wow! Do you see that kind of action often?"

"It's all in a days' work," Lee said confidently, smiling. He glanced around uncertainly. "I guess I should call the local cops. Anyone see a telephone?"

Kris pointed to the arriving harbor police. "There they are now. Want me to wait with you?" She smiled invitingly.

"Sure." After a few seconds he turned to Sabrina. "Could I talk to you for a minute?"

She took a deep breath. "I guess."

Bosley squeezed her encouragingly.

She smiled faintly and walked a few feet away with Lee, her back to the water.

"You really did a great job out there," he complimented sincerely. "Would you be interested in coming to the Agency? We're always looking for new recruits."

She smiled faintly. "No, thanks. DC's too cold for me. I was going to ask if you wanted to come work for Justice."

He shook his head. "Thanks anyway. Oh, um, your friend Kris."

She rose her eyebrows in surprise.

"Is she seeing anyone?" 

Sabrina smiled. "No, she's single."

"Are you sure?" He asked dubiously.

"As she says, single and ready to mingle."

"Good," he sighed in relief. He took her hand and shook it firmly. "Maybe we'll work together again some time."

"Maybe," she agreed.

They walked back over to the others.

"Are you ready?" Lee asked. "I don't know much about the nightlife here. Can you recommend someplace?"

"Sure," Kris answered eagerly, taking her hand in his. They walked off together towards the Coast Guard's cutter.

"He is cute," Kelly commented after they were out of earshot.

"It would be like dating Clint Eastwood," Sabrina replied, rolling her eyes.

"I think we should take you to the emergency room," Bosley stated worriedly, taking his handkerchief out of his pocket and gently brushing the dried blood off of her swollen cheek.

"I'll be all right, Bos," Sabrina answered tiredly. "I just need to go home and unwind."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded.

"I'll go get the car," he said as he walked off.

"He could make my day any time," Kelly grinned.

"Well, he does have a cute butt," Sabrina was forced to admit. Suddenly her cheek throbbed painfully. "I'm getting too old for this," she sighed wearily.

Bosley pulled up alongside them.

Kelly took Bri's arm and helped her to the car. "Come on. You know how Bos hates to be kept waiting."

Sabrina laughed. "Some things never change."

  
  


* * * * *

  
  


About six weeks later Lee was at the Amtrak station in Arlington, Virginia, trying to catch his breath and get his bearings and maintain his firm grip on the package. He didn't know what was in it, but it had to be important or Ron wouldn't have been killed smuggling it out of the mansion.

Suddenly he thought he spied a familiar face in the crowd. 'Sabrina!' He thought in relief, smiling as he'd thought he had unexpected help. He watched her for a few seconds and realized that he was mistaken. This woman bore a slight resemblance to her in the shape of the face but the body language, hair and entire demeanor were all wrong. He stayed on the side of the stationary Amtrak train and watched carefully. He had to do something! There were too many people around and an innocent bystander might get hurt. 

The woman watched her male friend get on the train and then waved as the train pulled out.

He came to a decision. After all, her counterpart had great instincts. Hopefully this stranger would as well. He looked around again and saw those two goons gaining on him.

He slipped under the stationary train and waited until the woman was coming towards him. He grabbed her and spun her around, putting his arm around her and dragging her with him in the opposite direction.

"Excuse me!" She snapped angrily, trying to pull away.

"Just walk with me." He pleaded, glancing over his shoulder anxiously.

"I certainly will not!"

"Please, I'm in trouble."

"No! I've got to go." She jerked away from him and started walking in the opposite direction.

He grabbed her again and forcibly turned her around to face him again. "Wait! Just one more thing…please."

"No!" She stared at him in disbelief. Couldn't he take the hint already?!

"I'm in trouble. Please!" He begged.

Her gaze wavered as he seemed sincere enough.

"Please!"

"What is it you want me to do?" She asked resignedly.

He urgently shoved the package towards her and put her hands around it in relief. "Just take this. Get on the train. It's a matter of life and death."

"Life and death?" She repeated suspiciously. Was this some kind of joke?

He nodded. "Hand it to the man in the red hat."

She stared at him for a few seconds, trying to figure out what was going on. "Is this for real?"

"Look!" He exploded, running out of patience. Time was running out and he noted that the two thugs spotted him and started making their way towards him again. "Just get on the train. Hand it to the man in the red hat. You can get off at the next stop and forget all about this. But do it!" He hurried off before the thugs realized that the package had been handed off.

She watched in a mixture of amusement and disbelief.

He waved her on the train furiously. 'Damn her! Why doesn't she just do it already?!'

She waved at him unsurely and finally started boarding the train.

He sighed in relief and hurried in the opposite direction, pretending that he still had the package tucked securely under his jacket.

The end? It was only the beginning. 

  
  


(Note: The above scene was taken word for word from the pilot episode of "Scarecrow and Mrs. King", original air date October 3, 1983, written by Eugene Ross-Leming and Brad Buckner. Many thanks, guys!)

  
  
  
  


Notes: 

  
  


*"Teen Angels" (aired episode)

**DOD = Department of Defense

   [1]: mailto:(scarecro9@aol.com)



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